In Response: Escondido turf war funded by taxpayers

It’s no secret that the residents surrounding the former Escondido Country Club hold their fairway views in high esteem. But at what price? All told, it could be in the millions — at taxpayers’ expense.

The costs began racking up when the Escondido Country Club Homeowners Organization (ECCHO) waged its own turf war using public resources. ECCHO proposed the city sanction a legally challengeable initiative seeking to take away private property and rezone the land from single-family residential to open space. It’s worth noting that the Escondido City Council approved the property’s current residential zoning just last year when they adopted the General Plan — a years-long public process.

Wisely, the April 26 editorial “Compromise Needed in Country Club Flap” suggested resolving this dispute before it gets out of hand, while a recent column (“Really? A crusade to save the Escondido Country Club,” April 25) noted obvious legal obstacles and land-use questions.

Naturally, the property’s future weighs on the minds of the former club members and nearby residents. But ECCHO’s quickly assembled political campaign makes one wonder why these driven folks didn’t buy the land themselves.

Bankruptcy proceedings began for the former Escondido Country Club in May 2012 — a year ago. By the time the land foreclosed at a public auction in December, I was the only interested party in attendance. With that purchase came unexpected debts run up by the prior owner — $230,000 in back property taxes and unpaid water fees, for starters — and a smaller revenue stream than originally represented.

In the end, the club’s dwindling membership — compounded by market saturation and the recession — could not support the monthly operational losses of $35,000, high water rates and $2 million in property upgrades.

Yet, even as the city manages tough financial times by scaling back services and closing a library, the course of action neighbors chose to pursue would only further drain public resources. What other city services would be sacrificed for this ballot measure?

Conversely, use of the land as currently zoned by the city of Escondido would result in city revenues of more than $10 million in fees, plus add local jobs.

Let’s hope cooler heads prevail in the interest of the public good for an outcome that benefits all the residents of Escondido. A ballot measure would be a bad deal for taxpayers.